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19th October 2000 Archive

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  • Rogue ISPs are pirate havens

    The BSA claims...

    Rogue European ISPs are acting as havens for illegal software download sites, anti-piracy outfit the Business Software Alliance claims. These ISPs fail to comply with 'take-down' notices for pirate sites served by the BSA, Margo Miller, head othe European internet enforcement unit, told IT site Silicon.com. The BSA is lobbying …

    Business 19 Oct 2000, 07:45

  • Telecity t/o up by half

    Hip hip...

    Telecity plc - which runs Internet exchanges in the UK and Europe - reported an operating loss of £3.4 million in Q3 to September 2000. Turnover for the same period was up 47 per cent to £3.8 million. The company's invested £12.3 million during the quarter in fitting out Internet exchanges across Europe, including Amsterdam and …

    Business 19 Oct 2000, 08:35

  • MS beats Street, ungrateful Street beats up MS

    The gift horse's teeth are coming under closer scrutiny...

    Microsoft's Q1 results comfortably 'beat the Street' - but the Street seems to be getting a mite suspicious. The company yanked earnings up from $2.19 billion a year ago to $2.21 billion, but the increase came from a surge in income from company investments, up from $550 million to an impressive $1.13 billion. Some analysts …

    Software 19 Oct 2000, 09:02

  • Illinois bans sale of votes

    And we thought this was a great Chicago tradition

    A Chicago judge has ordered Voteauction.com to shut down in Illinois, pending further legal action. The site offers US citizens the opportunity to sell their votes to the highest bidder. Although the site is run from Austria, Judge Michael Murphy of the Cook County Circuit granted a temporary restraining order instructing the …

    Music and Media 19 Oct 2000, 09:57

  • Apple sees growth despite depressed sales

    Inventiory issues to hit Q1 2001 results too

    The leaks from Apple's sieve-like HQ in Cupertino hinted that the Mac maker's latest fiscals, announced last night, wouldn't be as bad as the company warned t'other day, and sure enough they weren't. Instead of newly anticipated earnings of around 30 cents a share, Apple made 47 cents a share. That amounts to profits of $170 …

    Mac Channel 19 Oct 2000, 10:25

  • Sun posts 60 per cent sales growth

    Global factors worry McNealy, not IBM and HP

    Sun's revenues grew by 60 per cent in the first quarter causing CEO Scott McNealy to say it was only the global economy and interest rates that worried him - not IBM and HP. Net income jumped 85 per cent to $510 million for the quarter ending 30 September, compared with $276 million a year earlier. Sales stood at $5.05 billion …

    Business 19 Oct 2000, 10:38

  • Apple creates Europe-wide retail, education sales ops

    European centralisation continues

    Apple Europe's centralisation continues apace, demonstrated by today's announcement of the creation of pan-European retail and education sales teams. As we reported previously, Brendan O'Sullivan will run the education effort, having moved on from his role of Apple UK General Manager. Mark Rogers is confirmed as his replacement …

    Mac Channel 19 Oct 2000, 10:44

  • Chipzilla jilted in Germany

    AMD über alles

    PC sales in Germany's PC Spezialist stores show that AMD processors are gaining popularity at the expense of Chipzilla's Pentiums. The retailer's quarterly figures for its Bielefeld store show a growth in sales of over 50 per cent on the same period last year, with the proportion of PCs sold with AMD processors making up the …

    Business 19 Oct 2000, 11:26

  • BT justifies increase in line rental

    It's good - very good

    According to documents seen by The Register BT has really thought hard about justifying the increase in the overall cost of its domestic line rental. It admits that it makes a loss on line rental - a fact that is not disputed. But it's done to keep the basic cost of having a phone as low as possible, so that it is, …

    Data Networking 19 Oct 2000, 11:29

  • Digital Angel wireless implant set for unveiling

    Captain Cyborg, read and weep...

    Applied Digital Solutions' deeply weird Digital Angel, a wireless microchip device which can be planted under the skin and used for all sorts of... er... interesting applications, is to be unveiled in Florida at the end of this month. The demo, according to ADS, will combine GPS, wireless and body function monitoring. It's …

    Channel 19 Oct 2000, 13:16

  • BT to confirm ‘free’ local calls

    The kimono finally slips open...

    BT has called a press conference today at 3:45pm to discuss new pricing packages. It is believed the telco will confirm the introduction of US-style unmetered or "free" call packages The meeting has been called at short notice following revelations by The Reg earlier this week. Until now BT has refused to confirm or deny the …

    Software 19 Oct 2000, 14:01

  • Bluetooth server for sale

    Yes, a real live product

    Red-M, the Madge subsidiary, has announced a new wireless server, the 3000AS, worthy of note because it is the "first Bluetooth-enabled networking product". Despite the hype surrounding Bluetooth, few products have reached the market, and the more cynical among us wondered if this was ever going to take off. But Rob Forbes of …

    Business 19 Oct 2000, 14:04

  • Amdahl stops making mainframes

    Users want Unix

    Amdahl is pulling the plug on its mainframe business - it is getting out of the market for System 390-type servers. The IBM copycat is heavy-hearted about the move. CEO Yasushi Tajiri said: "This is a difficult step, given we have 30 years experience in mainframes, but it is a necessary one." Tajiri believes customers prefer …

    Business 19 Oct 2000, 14:04

  • Recalled 1.13GHz PIII will never resurface

    Too little, too late

    While Chipzilla's website maintains its legendarily-tenuous grip on reality in boasting that the Pentium III is currently available in speeds of up to 1.13GHz, The Register learns that the truth is somewhat different. Not only is the recalled chip not available, Intel today confirmed that it isn't scheduled for its second coming …

    Channel 19 Oct 2000, 16:20

  • BT confirms free local calls from 1 Dec

    Reg exclusive drags top brass off golf course

    At a hastily convened press conference this afternoon BT confirmed a Register exclusive that it was set to introduce unmetered phone tariffs in the UK from 1 December. Consumer division MD Angus Porter, who was summoned from the golf course to lead the press conference, said that details published so far were "pretty accurate …

    Data Networking 19 Oct 2000, 16:21

  • Detector vans can't tell you're watching TV streamed to your PC

    Licensing authority admits the obvious

    The Television Licensing Authority seems to be admitting defeat in the quest to winkle out viewers illegally watching TV programs on their computers in the UK, writes Chris Ward-Johnson. The TVLA has issued a statement to the Reg saying: "A licence is required to install and use any equipment capable of receiving TV signals - …

    Music and Media 19 Oct 2000, 16:22

  • VNU turns Computing into Ebusiness Age

    Something new for the round filing cabinet

    Dutch publisher VNU is preparing to share the exciting story behind the revamp of its corporate IT newspaper Computing. It will be interesting to know if its plans extend beyond the cosmetic, because there has been something very psychologically wrong with the paper for more than 10 years. No matter how many talented, mediocre …

    Bootnotes 19 Oct 2000, 16:51

  • Gateway hit with credit card lawsuit

    Updated Punters paying till the cows come home, apparently

    Cow-fixated computer maker Gateway is on the receiving end of a nasty class action lawsuit claiming the firm misled customers. The allegations involve a 'free' Internet access service for which some users were subjected to long distance phone charges and the issuing of credit cards with a stonking 27 per cent interest rate. The …

    Business 19 Oct 2000, 17:04

  • BT free local calls available Dec 1

    But the telco still won't come out and admit it

    BT is to start offering "free" local calls from December 1 as part of a massive shake-up of its residential business, according to detailed internal documents seen by The Register. Advertising for the new US-style inclusive tariffs and line rentals will begin on November 1 ahead of a major marketing push from the monster …

    Data Networking 19 Oct 2000, 17:04

  • BT listens to its punters

    Course it does...

    According to documents seen by The Register, BT is set to offer unmetered calls from 1 December. And the reason behind BT's change of heart - it has long been opposed to such a move - is that the monster telco has been asking customers what they want. "Our research has told us that customers like to be able to choose their …

    Data Networking 19 Oct 2000, 17:04

  • 3dfx on course to win Nvidia patent clash

    Or so recent court rulings have led it to believe

    3D graphics chip company 3dfx has described court rulings in its long-running patent infringement case against arch-rival Nvidia as "favourable", and is now sufficiently confident of success it intends to file for a summary judgement. The so-called "favourable rulings" were made on 29 September in response to an action brought …

    Channel 19 Oct 2000, 17:04

  • Virtual Sellers rages against ‘malicious’ BB posters

    Enjoins Raging Bull, AltaVista and CMGI in lawsuit

    VirtualSellers.com has filed a lawsuit against "malicious' anonymous posters on a message board hosted by financial site RagingBull.com. It has also named Raging Bull and its parent companies AltaVista and CMGI in the suit. VirtualSellers, which provides enterprise application development solutions, alleges the posters made " …

    Music and Media 19 Oct 2000, 17:04

  • Accounting change would wipe £2.3bn value from Hi-tech UK

    Share options in P&L

    As much as £2.3 billion could be wiped off the value of UK technology companies if new proposals from the Accounting Standards Board are taken up. The board recommends that IT companies be compelled to show share options as a cost in their profit and loss accounts. According to a report from Capital Strategies, this would lop an …

    Business 19 Oct 2000, 17:04

  • Taxman bows to BT pressure

    Telco wins massive refund

    BT has won a five year legal battle to reduce the amount it pays in tax. The monster telco said today it had won a £250 million refund on its local government business rates bills in England and Wales. The rebate covers valuations based on BT's network assets - things like street cabinets, telephone kiosks and telephone poles …

    Business 19 Oct 2000, 17:04

  • MP3.com settles with Paul McCartney, NMPA

    Agrees to pay $30 million for rights to over one million songs

    MP3.com has reached a potential out-of-court settlement with the US National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) to license the industry organisation's members' songs. The deal - which has yet to be ratified the NMPA's members - follows legal action launched against MP3.com by the organisation, in conjunction with former …

    Music and Media 19 Oct 2000, 17:04

  • HWRoundup Gonzo game card groupies

    And mega Celeron 600 overclocking

    Sharky Extreme has put the moves on the Hercules' 64MB GeForce2 Ultra and ended up doing the 'moonwalk all night at the Sharky Extreme Top Secret Moon Base and Brewery'. What it says is "The 3D Prophet II Ultra is an incredibly fast video card. It runs rings around GeForce2 GTS and RADEON cards while matching other GeForce2 …

    Hardware Roundup 19 Oct 2000, 17:48

  • SDMI hack: the ‘golden ears’ ride to the rescue

    Did you know the music companies use real people to measure things? Wow...

    SDMI executive director Leonardo Chiariglione's denunciation of the claims that the "Hack SDMI" challenge resulted in a complete whitewash of the music protection and identification system is looking increasingly shaky. Salon, which claimed earlier this month that all of the proposed technologies were successfully hacked, has …

    Software 19 Oct 2000, 18:52

  • E-Exchange goes titsup.com

    B2B = Back to Banking

    London B2B dotcom E-Exchange, darling of the Sunday Times e-league table, has laid off all staff and fallen into administration. The company failed to get funding and its fate now lies in the hands of administrators at Mazars Neville Russell. Its assets will be sold off - up for grabs are computer equipment and version three of …

    Business 19 Oct 2000, 21:20

  • License Online dumps UK office

    B2C = Back to Consultancy

    US dotcom License Online is to pull out of the UK and re-jig its business model. The Seattle-based company brought in Jan Lawford, former commercial director at distributor CHS Electronics, to head up the London office in February. The plan then was to make the UK its European HQ. But due to current IT market conditions the …

    Business 19 Oct 2000, 21:21